The St. George's Golf Course will close at the end of July, according to the Board of Trustees for the Golf Courses.

The Board had expected the volume of rounds of the golf played at the venue to increase significantly due to the closure of Port Royal Golf Course, however this has not been the case it said.

The St. George's Golf Course was projected to lose more than $600,000 for the year ending March 2009 and has been a severe financial drain on the combined three courses operation for many years, according to the Board.

Businessman Chris West, who owns the St. George's beach hut, said that he is unaware of the closing of the course but added he was due to meet with the Minister of Tourism, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown today.

He said: "If the golf course closes down then that will affect many business in St. George's. The more you close in St. George's the worse it will be with any tourist establishment, but I am not going to comment until I have sat down with the Premier."

General Secretary of the Bermuda Public Service Union, Ed Ball said: "I have not yet heard of the closure of the golf course.

"However, according to the clause, members of the BPSU will be afforded the rights of being retrained and relocated. Also redundancy and retirement will be offered."

The Board has decided to close the course for an indefinite time period and has asked Government to provide alternative job positions for the employees currently working at the St. George's Golf Course.

Employees that cannot be absorbed in other Government jobs will be given severance pay as in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement or granted early retirement if possible, said the Board.